Friday, August 19, 2011

Book Review: YA fantasy "Key of Kilenya"

As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for great new books to read--and I try to read widely in lots of different genres and age groups, not just the ones I'm writing in at the time. So I was excited to be asked to participate in the blog tour for Andrea Pearson's book, Key of Kilenya. The story is about normal fourteen-year-old Jacob, who's biggest plans and dreams including making the high school JV and varsity basketball team--which is sure to be the starting point for his NBA hopes. Then he gets chased into the woods by some wolves and ends up in a totally different world inhabited by many different races of strange and magical creatures, in addition to humans.

Jacob has some special talents (as heros in fantasy novels are wont to do), though he has no idea what they are when the book begins. Instead, he takes off with a few new friends to find the key to Kilenya--which had been stolen years earlier and was held in a city from which no one had made it to and back alive since. The journey is filled with dangerous foes, treacherous forest and obstacles, and new friends made along the way--including a human girl named Aloren and the Fat Lady (yes, she goes by that, and no, she's not at all like the one in Harry Potter).

The story has great characters, plenty of danger and adventure and the beginning hints of possible future teen romance. And yes, definitely expect another volume, because while it comes to a satisfying conclusion, there is more than a hint of a second book on the horizon.

Key to Kilenya is available in ebook right now, and will be available in paper copies shortly. You can learn more about the author and her writing on her blog. You can purchase an electronic copy of her book by following this link.